At least 77 people are now known to have died and hundreds of others have been injured after a train derailed near Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
The incident, involving the train between Madrid and Ferrol, occurred at 20:41. All eight carriages of the train, thought to be carrying at least 218 passengers according to RENFE.
Witnesses report that the train was travelling at high speed as it approached a closed curve. It is also reported that one of the drivers of the train, who was slightly injured in the crash, immediately admitted that the train was travelling at 190 kph when it hit the curve, which is over twice the permitted maximum of 80 kph.
The route had been renovated to accommodate high-speed trains, although apparently not the signalling system. However, some reports say that speed alone would not have caused the derailment, although it contributed to the severity of the incident, and there must have been some other factor involved relating to either the machinery or the track.